Shloka 11
पितृसर्ग-श्राद्धमाहात्म्य-प्रश्नः
Pitṛ-sarga and the Greatness of Śrāddha: The Inquiry
सूत उवाच । युधिष्ठिरेण संपृष्टं प्रश्नं श्रुत्वा स धर्मवित् । भीष्मः प्रोवाच सुप्रीत्या सर्वेषां शृण्वतां वचः
sūta uvāca | yudhiṣṭhireṇa saṃpṛṣṭaṃ praśnaṃ śrutvā sa dharmavit | bhīṣmaḥ provāca suprītyā sarveṣāṃ śṛṇvatāṃ vacaḥ
Sūta said: Having heard the question asked by Yudhiṣṭhira, that knower of dharma—Bhīṣma—spoke with great delight words for all who were listening.
Suta Goswami
Sthala Purana: Not applicable; narrative transition: Sūta reports Bhīṣma’s delighted reply to a dharma-question, preparing the audience for a prescriptive teaching.
Significance: Highlights śravaṇa-satsaṅga: teachings spoken ‘for all who listen’—a Purāṇic motif where communal hearing accrues merit and receptivity to Śiva’s path.
FAQs
It highlights the Shaiva-Puranic method of transmission: sincere inquiry (praśna) and joyful instruction by a dharma-knower, preparing the listener to receive Shiva-centered teachings that lead toward clarity, devotion, and liberation.
Though it does not mention the Liṅga directly, it sets the narrative frame in which authoritative elders explain dharma and worship; in the Shiva Purana this often culminates in guidance toward Saguna Shiva devotion and Liṅga-upāsanā as a practical path.
The implied practice is śravaṇa (attentive listening) and dharma-jijñāsā (right questioning), which in Shaiva practice supports mantra-japa—especially the Pañcākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—and disciplined devotion.